Four men donned their wackiest outfits, put together their best navigational skills, and set out across Europe in their newly decorated banger car for charity.

Friends, Jason Oakley, 29, Garry Elliott, 52, Andrew Tucker, 41, and Harris Richardson, 28, recently completed the Europe-wide charity road rally, Benidorm Bangers, raising more than £2,500 for Devon Air Ambulance Trust.

Benidorm Bangers is a non-profit charity rally and navigational challenge that begins in the UK and takes teams all the way to Benidorm, Spain, with daily challenges to complete along the route. The rules are that bangers must be as cheap and wacky as possible, so with a limit of £700, part of the challenge before even setting out is getting the best banger for your buck.

The rally is an opportunity to get immersed in incredible European scenery, while also being a good excuse to spend a few days having a great time with mates and supporting a good cause.

The four men chose DAAT as their charity because they’re all keen motorcyclists, and are very engaged in their bikes, figuring they might need DAAT services in the future. They took part in the DAAT Motorcycle Ride Out last year, and intend to participate again this year.

Jason and Garry of Frogmore; and Andrew and Harris of Kingsbridge, bought their banger for £400, a 2000 520i BMW, which they sanded and painted bright green and yellow.

They, along with 90 other cars, set off from London’s Ace Cafe on Tuesday, April 24, down to Dover, where they took the ferry across to Calais, France. The first leg of the trip totalled 22 hours before further overnight stops in Limoges, Andorra, Valencia and finally, Benidorm. On arrival, bangers were welcomed by locals and accompanied into the resort by police escort who were there to manage the sheer number of vehicles. They were then met with a Benidorm Bangers party and prize-giving festivities.

Jason said: “We didn’t win any of the competitions though, because we were always late due to getting lost and making detours to go site seeing.”

He added: “It was an amazing experience and a really good laugh. We would like to thank everybody and all the businesses that sponsored us to raise such a decent amount of money for such an important charity where we live.”

The men enjoyed the event so much that they have already signed up for next year’s rally.